WASHINGTON — The United States Department of Justice recently announced findings of the first federal survey of publicly operated forensic crime labs that reveal, as of Dec. 31, 1997, at least 6,800 unprocessed DNA cases and as many as 287,000 unprocessed convicted offender DNA samples. That translates to 69 percent out of 108 laboratories surveyed in 1998 with a backlog of cases.
As of June 1998, states are required to collect DNA samples from specified convicted offenders, especially sex offenders and other violent felons.
In response to a growing backlog of these cases, a congressional fiscal year 2000 appropriation is now being directed at providing $15 million to deal with the problem and another $15 million for the Crime Laboratory Improvement Program.
For more information, call (800) 732-3277 or for more information, visit www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/.
A hotly contested California gun-control law that was passed in 2007 is finally ready to...
Nearly nine of 10 Colorado sheriffs have signed onto a lawsuit seeking to overturn a trio...
Safariland has released its 7TS duty holsters designed to resist extremes in temperature....
The Aransas Pass (Texas) Police Department and city manager have begun crafting a policy...
In a lawsuit against the Ohio city of Riverside, its mayor, and two police officers, Roy...